bangladesh tourism sector

Travel & Tourism - Bangladesh

Bangladesh's Travel & Tourism market is expected to grow at an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 4.80%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$2,634.00m by 2028, with revenue projected to reach US$2,184.00m in the same year.
The market's largest market is the Hotels market with a projected market volume of US$1,169.00m in 2024.
By 2028, the number of users in the Hotels market is expected to amount to 12,680.00k users, with user penetration projected to hit 11.1%, up from 10.1% in 2024.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to amount to US$124.30.
By 2028, 60% of the total revenue in the Travel & Tourism market in Bangladesh will be generated through online sales.
In comparison to other countries, United States is projected to generate the highest revenue in 2024, with a total revenue of US$199bn.
Bangladesh's Travel & Tourism industry is growing due to government initiatives promoting eco-tourism and cultural heritage sites.

Key regions: Malaysia , Europe , Singapore , Vietnam , United States

Definition:

The Travel & Tourism market encompasses a diverse range of accommodation services catering to the needs and preferences of travelers. This dynamic market includes package holidays, hotel accommodations, private vacation rentals, camping experiences, and cruises.

The market consists of five further markets.

The Cruises market covers multi-day vacation trips on a cruise ship. The Cruises market encompasses exclusively passenger ticket revenues.
The Vacation Rentals market comprises of private accommodation bookings which includes private holiday homes and houses as well as short-term rental of private rooms or flats.
The Hotels market includes stays in hotels and professionally run guest houses.
The Package Holidays market comprises of travel deals that normally contain travel and accommodation sold for one price, although optional further provisions can be included such as catering and tourist services.
The Camping market includes bookings at camping sites for pitches using tents, campervans, or trailers. These can be associated with big chains or privately managed campsites.

Additional Information:

The main performance indicators of the Travel & Tourism market are revenues, average revenue per user (ARPU), users and user penetration rates. Additionally, online and offline sales channel shares display the distribution of online and offline bookings. The ARPU refers to the average revenue one user generates per year while the revenue represents the total booking volume. Revenues are generated through both online and offline sales channels and include exclusively B2C revenues and users for the above-mentioned markets. Users represent the aggregated number of guests. Each user is only counted once per year. Additional definitions for each market can be found within the respective market pages.

The booking volume includes all booked travels made by users from the selected region, independent of the departure and arrival. The scope includes domestic and outbound travel.

Prominent players in this sector include online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia and Opodo, as well as tour operators such as TUI. Specialized platforms like Hotels.com, Booking.com, and Airbnb facilitate the online booking of hotels and private accommodations, contributing significantly to the market's vibrancy.

For further information on the data displayed, refer to the info button right next to each box.

Bookings directly via the website of the service provider, travel agencies, online travel agencies (OTAs) or telephone

out-of-scope

Business trips
Other forms of trips (e.g. excursions, etc.)

Travel & Tourism

Vacation Rentals
Package Holidays
Analyst Opinion

The Travel & Tourism market in Bangladesh has been experiencing significant growth in recent years, attracting both domestic and international travelers. Customer preferences: Travelers in Bangladesh are increasingly seeking unique and authentic experiences, driving the demand for off-the-beaten-path destinations and cultural immersion. Additionally, there is a growing interest in sustainable and eco-friendly tourism practices among travelers in the country. Trends in the market: One notable trend in the Bangladeshi travel market is the rise of adventure tourism, with activities such as hiking, trekking, and river rafting gaining popularity. This trend is fueled by the country's diverse natural landscapes, including lush forests, picturesque rivers, and scenic mountains. Moreover, the government's efforts to promote tourism through infrastructure development and marketing campaigns have also contributed to the growth of the sector. Local special circumstances: Bangladesh's rich cultural heritage and historical landmarks, such as ancient temples, mosques, and archaeological sites, make it a compelling destination for history enthusiasts and cultural tourists. The country's vibrant festivals, traditional arts and crafts, and delicious cuisine further add to its appeal among travelers. Additionally, the warm hospitality of the Bangladeshi people and the affordable cost of travel make it an attractive destination for budget-conscious tourists. Underlying macroeconomic factors: The steady economic growth in Bangladesh, coupled with rising disposable incomes and improving infrastructure, has led to an increase in domestic travel. Furthermore, the government's focus on promoting tourism as a key sector for economic development has led to investments in tourism infrastructure and initiatives to attract more visitors to the country. As a result, the Travel & Tourism market in Bangladesh is poised for continued growth in the coming years.

Methodology

Data coverage:

Modeling approach:

Additional notes:

Sales Channels
Travel Behavior
Global Comparison
Key Market Indicators

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Bangladesh Factsheet

Discover the total economic contribution that the Travel & Tourism sector brings to Bangladesh and the world in this data-rich, two-page factsheet.

Discover the direct and total economic contribution that the Travel & Tourism sector brings to the Bangladesh’s economies in this comprehensive report.

Discover the direct and total economic contribution that the Travel & Tourism sector brings to Bangladesh in this comprehensive report.

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Factsheet details

This factsheet highlights the importance of Travel & Tourism to Bangladesh across many metrics, and features details such as:

Contribution of the sector to overall GDP and employment
Comparisons between 2019 and 2023
Forecasts for 2024 and 2034
International and domestic visitor spending
Proportion of leisure vs business spending
Top 5 inbound and outbound markets

This latest report reveals the importance of Travel & Tourism to the Bangladesh in granular detail across many metrics. The report’s features include:

Absolute and relative contributions of Travel & Tourism to GDP and employment, international and domestic spending
Data on leisure and business spending, capital investment, government spending and outbound spending
Charts comparing data across every year from 2014 to 2024
Detailed data tables for the years 2018-2023 plus forecasts for 2024 and the decade to 2034

Purchase of this report also provides access to two supporting papers: Methodology and Data Sources and Estimation Techniques.

This latest report reveals the importance of Travel & Tourism to Bangladesh in granular detail across many metrics. The report’s features include:

This factsheet highlights the importance of T&T to this city across many metrics, and features details such as:

Contribution of the sector to overall GDP and employment in the city
Comparisons between 2019, 2020 and 2021, plus 2022 forecast
Proportion of the T&T at city level towards overall T&T contribution at a country level
Top 5 inbound source markets

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Tourism in Bangladesh

Development of the tourism sector in bangladesh from 1995 to 2021.

Revenues from tourism

All data for Bangladesh in detail

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Tourism Industry in Bangladesh: A Possible New Contributor to Bangladesh Economy

Saiful Rahman

April 26, 2021

Updated On : May 27, 2023

Tourism is one of the emerging industries in Bangladesh. The tourism industry accounts for 4.4% of the country’s GDP and is showing a noticeable amount of growth every year. Therefore, it can be said that the tourism industry is going to have a big impact on the economy of Bangladesh in the near future. But like many other industries, the tourism industry itself has its own challenges. In this blog, we will focus on the current state of Bangladesh’s tourism industry, its limitations, and future plans.

At present, the importance of the tourism industry is escalating with the increasing number of tourists in the country. In the financial year of 2019-20, the government allocated Tk 3,400 crore for Biman Bangladesh and the Ministry of Tourism, which is more than double that of the last financial year. And, we can certainly see the outcome of it in the rate of travel and tourism in the country. In 2019, the country saw the highest growth rate in the number of tourists. As a result, we moved from 125th position to 120th out of 140 countries in terms of tourism. While this may seem like an improvement in the tourism industry, its impact is still minimal. In terms of tourism within the Asian continent, only one country ranks after Bangladesh which is Pakistan. And considering the wide-case scenario, we are far behind everyone else. Again, 97% of the income that we generate from tourism, comes from our local tourists. This proves that Bangladesh as a travel destination is still quite unpopular among foreign tourists.

Over the past few years, South Asia and Southeast Asia have become quite popular tourist destinations. In 2018, South Asia’s tourism revenue was $39.4 billion, whereas Southeast Asia generated a revenue of $151.9 billion from tourism. And if we look at Bangladesh’s contribution to this, the amount is almost negligible. India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam alone accounted for about $164 billion in tourism revenue. Which accounts for 86% of the total income of South Asia and Southeast Asia combined. In addition, in 2017, around 115 million tourists visited these 6 countries alone. Other popular tourist destinations include Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia, and the Philippines. From 2010 to 2018, the growth rate of tourism in South Asia and Southeast Asia increased by 10% and 8%, respectively. Again, the contribution of Bangladesh to this growth was very little. Now there are a few possible reasons why Bangladesh is falling behind in this sector.

1. Lack of Tourists from Western Countries

About half of the total tourists that come to Bangladesh are from India. Rest majority of the tourists come from different Asian countries. Around 5% of tourists come from America, but the number of expatriate Bengalis among those tourists is higher. In 2018, the total global expenditure on tourism was $1.7 trillion. Of which, America alone spent $334 billion and Europe spent about $570 billion dollars. In conclusion, the US and Europe spend 53% of the global tourism market altogether. On the other hand, the rate of tourists in Bangladesh is only about 7%, whereas the rest of the popular travel destinations in Asia get about 20%-71% of tourists from foreign countries. This shows how badly we are lagging behind in the tourism sector despite having the potential.

2. Lack of Adequate Security Measurement:

Security is a big issue for foreign tourists. The US State Department has issued a warning against traveling to Dhaka and the South-Eastern region of Bangladesh, citing crime, terrorism, and kidnapping. However, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2019 Safety & Security Index, Bangladesh has improved its rank from 123rd to 105th place. This means that Bangladesh is working diligently on its safety & security keeping tourists in mind.

3. Limitations of the Domestic Airlines System

Domestic airlines play an important role in promoting their country to foreign tourists. Although Biman Bangladesh Airlines represents Bangladesh, the international flight it runs only goes to one country outside Asia which is London. As a result, for the rest of the countries, the travel cost to Bangladesh is relatively higher for tourists. Sadly, our position is 111th in terms of aviation, ranking last in Asia.

4. Extra Cost for Tourists

Travel expenses in Bangladesh are much higher than that of some countries advanced in tourism. Despite higher expenses, the opportunities offered are very few and negligible. This is definitely a big hurdle for us considering other popular travel destinations that are offering better facilities at a lower cost.

5. Lack of Adequate Marketing

Bangladesh Tourism Board was established in 2010 to promote the tourism industry of Bangladesh to the world. A TV commercial about Bangladesh and a website of the Tourism Board were created. The board has been involved in a number of activities such as tourism fairs and exhibitions as well as the inaugural event of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, but has not taken any significant steps since then. The board can definitely take several more marketing strategies that can be adopted to promote the tourism industry in Bangladesh.

6. Lack of Adequate Tourism Infrastructure

Bangladesh ranks 109th in the world in terms of tourism infrastructure. We lag behind all other countries in Asia except Nepal. Our transportation sector, especially, is much underdeveloped. All the roads & highways combined occupy only 7.5% of the total land area of the country. But the number of vehicles that run on them is way too much higher compared to them, so the road-to-vehicle ratio is quite off-putting. As a result, the problem of traffic congestion is increasing by the day. On the other hand, road accidents are also quite frequent in our country. In 2019, about 4580 people died in road accidents. The number is much higher than the previous years which is very concerning. Also, we are lagging behind in terms of tourism services. We are ranked 133rd out of 140 countries.

Tourism and cultural Relations in Bangladesh

The social interrelation between tourists and the indigenous community of chittagong hill tracts., introduction.

Bangladesh is a country rich in natural beauty of rivers, mountains, and the sea. The country’s Chittagong hill tracts (henceforth, CHT) region is especially abundant in ecological and cultural diversity, making it one of the main tourist attractions for tourists in Bangladesh. CHT, consisting of almost one-tenth of the land of the country, is a culturally unique and ‘exotic’ spot with more than ten different ethnic communities (UNICEF, 2019). Tourism is one of the reasons for increasing reciprocity among the rural hill tribes and the lowlanders of Bangladesh. The close intersections between tourism, social life,economy, and ecology shapes the relationship between the communities of tourists and locals. There are several positive and negative impacts of tourism in the hilly areas and the lifestyles of the Highlander ethnic communities. It is necessary to talk about the people living for centuries in CHT, which recently emerged as a tourist attraction spot. With the evolving role of the hill tracts for the people of the country, the relationship between lowlanders and highlanders is also evolving with major impacts on lifestyle, economic and cultural aspects. To understand the dynamics and mobility of tourists and indigenous communities, it’s important to bring out the perspective of both, and the role and perspective of the tourists are equally important as the indigenous. Though there is much research and reports being conducted with the indigenous and economic perspectives, the tourist community, who are the main focus of the tourism industry, are being overlooked. My paper intends to bring out the standpoints of the tourists in the matter of indigenous lives. The stand of both indigenous community and tourists are important to create a social dialogue about tourism development as a fast growing sector. In fact, with the inclusion of indigenous and local perspectives on the emergence of tourism, the opinionated participation of the tourists are also important to create a sustainable society around the tourist attraction spots.

Background Context

The tourism industry of Bangladesh has been a concern for the country’s leaders since the independence of the country. In 1972, after the victory of the Liberation War, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) or Bangladesh Tourism Corporation was introduced by the presidential order . This suggests that since the state’s inception, Bangladeshi leaders had a vision about tourism’s importance for the country’s future. about the emergence of tourism and its economic aspects for the future. And accordingly, th e industry contained 3% of the total GDP in the 2019 fiscal year and is rising over the recent years and the government has allocated 1000 crore in tourism development in 2022 (Dhaka Tribune, 2022). The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) predicts that by 2023 Bangladesh’s tourism sector will employ about 1.7 million workers, roughly 4.2 percent of the country’s workforce (Hasan, 2021). This suggests that the tourism industry has enough potential to boost economic growth in Bangladesh. Yet the consequences of the development of the country’s tourism industry for its indigenous minorities remained fraught from the beginning . Bangladeshi tourism focuses mostly on the rural and hilly areas of the country, which also consists of a diversified community of indigenous people. With the concern of tourism and its development as an industry, in most cases, the lives of the indigenous community are excluded (Tithila, 2020). This exclusion traces back to the first constitution of Bangladesh which conflated Bangladeshi identity with Bengali ethnic identity, thus marginalising indigenous communities in the newly formed state (Jnan, 2018). Then, the militarization in the territory, because of the demand for the CHT Regulation Act by the locals, was actually a threat to the freedom of the indigenous people. The Regulation Act was introduced by the British government for the perseverance of the tribal minorities of CHT. Therefore, the emerging tourism industry of CHT, is related to such historically marginalised society, creating a new economical way of exclusion and exploitation (Tithila, 2020).

Economic Interconnection of Tourism and Indigenous

For people searching for ‘refreshment’, ‘stress detox’, and ‘productivity boost’, travelling is the top choice for a lot of people. According to one of the interviewees, “There are two types of tourists to find in CHT. The first group consists of those who want to have a vacation, live in luxury hotels, and have all the urban facilities. The second group includes those who want to experience the place”(Rashid, personal interview 3). Fortunately, CHT has arrangements for both types of tourists. Most famous tourist spots like Bandarban, Sajek, Rangamati have enough hotels and resorts to accommodate tourists throughout the year. The BPC also has authorised hotels, motels, resorts and restaurants over the country and including several places in CHT . And these provide economically to a vast number of local families as the jobs in the tourism sector are easily available. The adventurous and experience-seeking travelers are in favor of accommodations that enable natural intimacy and for this, camping is one of the most popular and convenient living arrangements. Other than the concept of living in tents, there is one unique living arrangement introduced by the indigenous community. The tourists can spend the night or stay inside the remote villages in the forestry lands of CHT. A young tourist and member of the ‘Adventure Club’ of his University, stated that “the indigenous people are very welcoming and friendly to invite the tourists to stay in their houses, or simply spend the night on their veranda in exchange for an affordable amount of money” (Islam, personal interview 1). Certainly, the indigenous people have economic advantages to gain from tourism. Unfortunately, the commercial tourist businesses have thus far marginalised indigenous communities from the industry, snatching indigenous lands for building luxury hotels. Sajek , which is one of the tourist hotspots of CHT, is a rapidly developing area in the context of tourism. Protests by the ‘Mro’ community against the snatching of their rights to their land( The daily star, 2023) , has been reported in the press as a major setback for the tourism industry of Bangladesh. A student of BRAC University who recently visited Sajek, a tourist hotspot of CHT, stated that “the resorts in Sajek are likely to be built on the inhabitants of the ‘Pahari’ people as a tourist reports that the resort they were living in, was previously the residence of a local family and now the family lives in the resort being employees of that place” (Kubra, personal interview 9)

. More concerning report comes out in another research that there have been deaths of people due to forceful displacement from their lands in Nilgiri, another tourist attraction of the CHT. But this case is slightly different than Sajek’ s as here the military is involved( Chakma, 2016). As land issues of the CHT are parallel with the growth of tourism and tourism business, the relationship between tourism and local inhabitants has come to be marked with more lines of conflict. It shows that the tourism industry is actually working as a tool of exploitation and displacement for the indigenous community. According to Prof. Azim, chairperson of English and Humanities department at BRAC University, the domestic property developers are the driving force of land related subjugation and injustice towards the indigenous people. The escalation of tourism, leads to more investment in this sector for an amplified return of investment. In this whole system of business and development, the tribal communities are overlooked (Azim, Personal Interview). Tourism as a business sector is growing with social prejudice towards the tribal communities and the Bengali community also participates in such land disputes with the local indigenous community of CHT.

Some 295 Christian families in a cluster of three villages — Saingya Tripura Para, Hatibhanga Para and Laimi Para — are concerned that a Bengali Muslim businessman intends to build a five-star hotel on 101 hectares by allegedly exploiting his financial and political clout. (Rozario, 2019).

On the contrary, another interviewee, a frequent tourist and a member of an “Adventure Club”, remarked about the rising cost of basic necessities in newly developing tourist areas. The local restaurants inside small tourist villages, or the grocers, charge more than the actual market price of everyday products which was a disappointing experience for one of my interviewees. Another tourist and interviewee for this project, corroborated this information with the explanation that the supplies of the commodities are limited and the sellers are dependent on the tourists from the lowland to do business. The interviewee stated that, “Small village shops are not rich in supplies and customers to maintain the actual market price. Also local indigenous people are in the transportation field as well as small businesses and the tourists can rent the vehicles in exchange for a good amount of money for their local exploration, as their income is totally based on the tourists, they ask for extra payment”. Additionally, an important testimony of a frequent visitor of CHT is that the income source of the ‘ Pahari’ people are shifting towards the tourism industry rather than their traditional Jhum cultivation. Seemingly, it is a matter of concern that the locals are being diverted from their agricultural economy and being involved in the tourism industry while making the tourists pay extra cost for the services.

Environment, adventure, and ecotourism

The term ecotourism refers to the methods where the tourism industry will be managed in a way that does not harm the ecology. The BPC (Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation), has ecotourism on their development agendas too. The increase in tourist interaction in the rural hilly areas can threaten the natural balance of that place. As mentioned earlier, the cultivation system and lifestyle of the indigenous people are heavily dependent on local ecology which is being hampered with the development of tourism. The idea of development around the hill tracts is seen as tourism based rather than local concerns. The tourism infrastructure like roads, and buildings, materially beautifying the surroundings, are a threat to the ecosystem. A fellow of YECAP (Youth Empowerment in Climate Action Platform) and a contributing NGO employee, during the interview, stressed on the necessity of ecotourism in CHT while addressing the failings of Bangladesh in providing proper ecotourism support due to the lack of proper policy-building and implementation, even though Bangladesh was one of the first countries to take climate and mitigation plans(personal interview, Anonymous 6). The implementation of ecotourism will also increase the chances of a better economy with reduced prices of living cost and more tourism from diverse economical backgrounds. One of my interviewees suggested that with proper publicity ecotourism can help foster a more cooperative relationship between tourists and the environment. (Anonymous, Personal interview 6). The interviewee is part of a tourist adventure club that has a strict ‘zero littering policy’ where they do not throw any kind of plastic or waste in nature, rather they carry the plastics with them to dump in a particular place. According to the tourists, not all places of CHT are commercialised. Many tourists prefer places like Nafakhum, Amiakhum, Sakahafongh, that require a little bit of trekking, are attractive for trekkers and adventure seekers. Tourists visiting these places tend to stay with local families in the small villages in these areas. (Islam, personal interview 1). Another interviewee pointed out that, “Even though the Paharis are harmoniously coexisting with nature, being dependent on it, the majority of tourists are not responsible enough to keep the environment clean and free from their personal waste to pollute the nature” (Rashid, personal interview 3). The YECAP fellow also stated that “

rights (Anonymous, personal interview 6). One of my interviewees, belonging to the Bandarban region as a local, informed me that “tourism development is a tourist based development style where the locals are lacking proper social development. There’s water shortage and no proper health care system for the tribal villages as well (Anonymous, interviewee, 4). This suggests that the tribal people are deliberately marginalised by the tourism development industry. The ecology and development of lifestyle is a further context for the tourism development sector.

Cultural and social identity in the influence of tourism

“I love to visit the hilly areas because of the tribal people and their culture over there. Especially the food”(Amit, interviewee 2)

The vibrant culture of indigenous communities plays a vital role in attracting tourists multiple times. Many of my interviewees found the lifestyles of indigenous communities inspiring. As one of them put it, the everyday lives of these communities were deeply connected with nature, as was their culture. . Their houses are distinctively different from the lowland houses which further enhances the beauty of hills. The rich cultural lives of indigenous communities, as well as their warm and welcoming attitude towards visitors, made one of my interviewees want to keep going back (Riya, Interviewee 5). On the other hand, One of my interviewee stated from their personal experience that “the tribes are not very welcoming or are critical of the tourists” He also added “some locals are critical over the outfits of the tourists as most of the tourists wear ‘western’ clothes while trekking and visiting the tribal places” (Anonymous, personal interview) . So, there are two different versions of feedback extracted from the interviewees in the matter of social acceptance of tourism into the indigenous community. Sometimes the behaviour, clothing and habits are too different to them, so they are critical over this (Islam, interviewee 1).An interviewee who was born in Bandarban (a district of CHT) but grew in Dhaka, related to CHT both as a local and as a tourist. She also talked about the diversity of cultures and practices in these areas. Coming from a tribal family, she commented upon the differences of lifestyle of indigenous and lowland Bangladeshi people. According to her, “tourism was in fact exacerbating these differences. By profiting off the “exoticization” of minority ethnic groups, tourism was further marginalising these groups from popular understandings of Bangladeshi identity and society (Anonymous, personal interview). On the other hand, Prof. Azim has argued that ethnic cultural identity can also be a source of pride. At the same time, many people from these communities also seek social mobility through new opportunities in education and economic life (Azim, Personal Interview).

. Many of these groups are learning Bengali and seeking schooling in the language to increase their chances of social and economic mobility. Despite this, their distinct cultural practices remain important not only to members of these communities but also to tourists visiting these areas. For example, “ three predominant indigenous communities – Chakma, Marma and Tripura – celebrate the New Year in different ways and with different celebrations” (Alom, 2017) and in recent times, the lowland Bangladeshiu tourists are also being intrigued and excited to experience the festival. The cultural diversity of the tribes is therefore an important factor driving the growth of tourism. But there are many other religious festivals which are only for people from the community and there are even times when the tourists or any outsiders are completely prohibited from entering the villages (Rashid, interviewee, 3). But the common statement almost all the interviewees stressed upon, was the need to have mutual respect and integrity while engaging with different cultures.

Social position and expectations

Marginalisation, racial domination and ‘otherness’ towards the ethnic communities, are some challenging issues for the tourism development sector of Bangladesh. Beagle Chilisa in the book titled “ Indigenous Research Methodologies” has clearly stated that

“Tourism can also perpetuate unequal power relations between Indigenous peoples and dominant cultures. The promotion of tourism often emphasises the exotic and primitive aspects of Indigenous cultures, while downplaying the modern and contemporary realities of Indigenous peoples.” (p. 157).

While the tourists are fascinated by the cultural practice of the indigenous people, there is also an evident sense of patronization in how they talk about and treat these communities. Bengali being the state language of Bangladesh, is also therefore imposed upon the tribal communities who have their own diverse linguistic identities. Two interesting factors identified for this are firstly education, job and inclusion in the mainstream, secondly, stronger communication with the tourists and many tourists even expected that knowing Bengali by the tribal locals, would be beneficial for the tourist groups. The cultural integrity of the tribal groups is an equal responsibility for the low and highlanders as it also represents the diversity of Bangladesh. The tribes have experienced many oppressions and negative impacts because of many pseudo-development of tourism and their resources were snatched. Tourism does put the mainlanders in a socially dominant position over the locals and tourists explicitly or implicitly accept this social hierarchy.

While some of my tourist interviewers were suggesting forms of tourism sensitive to local ecology and culture, , many other tourists desire material luxury in their travels to places like CHT. Numerous individuals hold racial prejudice with discriminatory conduct against ethnic communities. Prof. Azim suggested a unique style of installing a university in CHT for students of all backgrounds to learn in a diverse cultural setting which can enable a sense of acceptance and community among students. She also suggests introducing university courses about tribal culture, literature, and lifestyle. This way, the relationship and inclusion of the indigenous in the mainstream and the mainstream to the indigenous community can see a new horizon. Education can actually be a way of inclusion and empathy building for the future generations of Bangladeshi citizens be it from indigenous or Bengali communities

The rapid growth of commercial tourism has been detrimental for Bangladesh’s indigenous minorities and their lifestyle from every possible aspect. However, ecologically, and culturally sensitive tourism where indigenous minorities are important stakeholders, has the capacity to encourage intercultural dialogue and promote inclusive community building specifically around the tourist areas. Tourism is definitely a sector in Bangladesh that has the capacity to bring diverse populations together and create new contexts for inter-cultural exchange. Like the interviewees supporting sustainable tourism, the government should encourage the implementation of tourism in the relationship of coexistence between the majority and minority communities while implementing inclusive planning and policy building to determine the perseverance of indigenous economy and culture along with tourism development policies.

Work Cited

Alom, Z. (2017, April 15). The many shades of Boisabi. The Daily Star . https://www.thedailystar.net/celebration-unity/the-many-shades-boisabi-1390897

Chilisa, B. (2011). Indigenous Research Methodologies .

Chakma, M. (2016). Tourism development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: The impact on indigenous peoples (IPs) (Doctoral dissertation, Thesis, Flinders University. https://flex. flinders. edu. au/file/6842a80c-cce0-4f2a-a85f-8014acf5ec07/1/Chakma% 20MCw% 20thesis% 20March% 202017. pdf).

Hasan, E. H. (2021, December 20). The future of the travel industry . The Financial Express. https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/reviews/the-future-of-the-travel-industry-1639981030

Jnan. (2018, June 14). Ethnic cleansing in Bangladesh: the Chittagong Hill Tracts? Asia Dialogue. https://theasiadialogue.com/2018/03/08/ethnic-cleansing-in-bangladesh/

The Daily Star. (2023, January 3). Protect Mro community from violent land grabbers. The Daily Star. https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/editorial/news/protect-mro-community-violent-land-grabbers-3211761

UNICEF. (2019, August). MANY TRACTS ONE COMMUNITY UNICEF’S Work in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. UNICEF . https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/sites/unicef.org.bangladesh/files/2019-09/CHT-report-LR-August20-website.pdf

One Reply to “Tourism and cultural Relations in Bangladesh”

Absolutely beautiful.

Transforming Bangladesh’s tourism industry

We can hope that the next two decades will see Bangladesh's tourism industry realizing its full potential

Much has been written and continues to be written about Bangladesh's ambitious economic plans. We intend to become a high-income country by 2041, and in order to achieve such a goal, we will require every sector of our economy to step up.

To that end, news that Bangladesh Tourism Board is preparing a master plan on the country’s tourism sector in cooperation with IPE Global Limited is certainly very encouraging to hear about.

Much like our ambitious plans for 2041, we have set the very ambitious goal of attracting 10 million tourists and a revenue of $8 billion by 2041, and while these seem like incredible figures, nevertheless, it is good to see that there is thought being put into transforming what has essentially been a fledgling sector for too long now.

Indeed, it has been a severe lack of planning that has relegated our tourism sector as a mere afterthought in our ascent as an economy, but no longer can we afford to not pay attention to this sector. A proper plan to attract tourists from South Asia first, and eventually expand to the rest of the globe,is the need of the hour.

Furthermore, there exist too many barriers for tourists to feel welcome in Bangladesh. Whether that be the unnecessarily cumbersome visa process, to the safety within our borders, to providing the amenities and facilities conducive of a healthy environment for tourists, we have plenty of work to do before we are ready to be an attractive destination for foreign tourists.

Yet, Bangladesh Tourism Board’s master plan is an important first step, and we can hope that the next two decades will see Bangladesh's tourism industry realizing its full potential.

Do economists even matter?

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“Bangladesh tourism sector to bounce back in 2023”

Photo: Collected-

Metropolis Report-

The tourism sector of Bangladesh will bounce back in 2023 as the global economy is getting on the track despite some challenges.

Shiblul Azam Koreashi, president of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), expressed this view while talking to this correspondent.

He said the corona pandemic has hit the Bangladesh economy as well as the tourism sector.

He said the opening of the Padma bridge will give a boost to the growing tourism sector as the communication system between south and southwestern part of the country marked remarkable improvement.

Indian and Nepalese tourists will be interested in visiting Bangladesh through road and railway networks, said Shiblul Azam Koreashi

The Padma bridge is projected to raise the country’s GDP by 1.23 percent, and the southwestern region’s GDP by 2.5 percent

Meanwhile, inbound tourist arrivals during the calendar year 2021 dropped 25 per cent as against previous year 2020, according to sources.

A total of 135,186 international tourists visited Bangladesh in 2021 as against a total of 181,518 in 2020, 621,131tourists in 2029 , 552,730 tourists in 2018, 500,665 tourists in 2017, 400,659 tourists in 2016 , 261,416 tourists in 2015, 316,481 tourists in 2014, 230,171 tourists in 2013, 290,711 tourists in 2012, 280,520 tourists in 2011 and 250,272 tourists in 2010. However, the number of international tourists was the highest in a single month of December in 2021 recording at 43,986…..

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Mr Md Mokammel Hossian said that the tourism sector of Bangladesh will also get a boost after completion of Tourism Master Plan by this year as stakeholders concerned will get a new guideline to work in the sector.

Meanwhile, Hossian expressed this view at a reception at the Hotel InterContinental in the city recently .

“The country’s tourism will enter a new era with the implementation of the Tourism Master Plan. The first ever tourism master plan is expected to be completed by December this year to build a sustainable tourism industry attracting more inbound and domestic tourists.

“The much-awaited master plan will play an important role in flourishing country’s tourism as we need a proper coordinated guideline for basic development in our leisure industry,” he said.

He said the master plan is being formulated considering achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on tourism as well as aligning the government’s Vision 2041 and Delta Plan.

Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) under the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry has engaged a reputed international consultancy firm, named IPE Global, to prepare a master plan on tourism.

IPE Global Limited is an Indian international development consulting group known for providing technical assistance and solutions for development and sustainable growth in developing countries.

Bangladesh has set a target of attracting 10 million tourists and revenue of 8 billion US dollar by 2041.

He said the country’s tourism would enter into a new era when the first ever “Tourism Master Plan” is finalized this December with the target of increasing the sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) to 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, Sarder Nurul Amin, Police Super, planning and operation of Tourist Police, in Dhaka, said “ Proper and higher training of the tourist police personnel is important in the context of boosting tourism in Bangladesh. The success of the country in the tourism is still below potentials compared to the countries of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lankan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan”

As the country’s travel and tourism sector is overcoming the impact of corona pandemic gradually, the government of Bangladesh should mull over necessary amendment to the tourism related rules and regulations, regular exchanging views with stakeholders of the countries successful in tourism sector, grooming trained and skilled manpower, ensuring proper coordination among stakeholders concerned, inclusion of the tourist police in the governing body of the Bangladesh Tourism Board and participation of locals in ensuring security to the local and international tourists.

Sarder Nurul Amin, Police Super, planning and operation of Tourist Police, in Dhaka said this at a seminar titled ‘Security threat at the tourist spots: responsibilities of Bangladesh Tourist Police,” organized by the Bangladesh Tourism Board marking the World Tourism Day recently.

Sarder Nurul Amin said safety and security of the tourists are important in the context of making a country successful in the travel and tourism sector.

He also a tourist select his or her destination based on the level of crime, health risk, and terror threat, natural disaster and man-made disasters

The World Tourism Day was celebrated in the country on September 27 like elsewhere in the world highlighting the potentials of tourism.

The government and different organisations held various programmes to celebrate the day with the global theme ‘Rethinking Tourism’. “Rethinking Tourism” is the theme for World Tourism Day 2022.

Sarder Nurul Amin said safety and security of the tourists are important in the context of making a country successful in the travel and tourism sector.

The tourism sector of Bangladesh will get a boost after completion of the ‘Master Plan’ by this year as stakeholders concerned will have a new guideline to work in the sector.

The country’s first ever tourism master plan would be completed by this year to build a sustainable tourism industry attracting more inbound and domestic tourists.

In view of that, countries like South Africa, Mexico and Brazil are not considered as safe and secured like Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Japan and New Zealand, he said.

According to The Pacific Asia Travel Association, the Bangladesh’s travel and tourism sector incurred a loss of taka 97 billion during the period of 2020. The tourism sector is one of the most affected sectors in Bangladesh. The travel and tourism sector created some 18.6 lakh jobs, 2.9 per cent of total jobs generated. The number of employment dropped to 14.5 lakh in 2020, 2.3 per cent of total jobs, said Sarder Nurul Amin.

According to the UK based-World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Bangladesh will be among top 15-20 countries in the world in the tourism sector.

Bangladesh’s economy exceeded the USD 1 trillion milestones in January 2022. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made this projection based on purchasing power parity (PPP). IMF projections predict Bangladesh’s real GDP will grow by 6.5 percent in 2022, while the UN estimates a 5.8 percent growth in the same year. In terms of purchasing power parity, Bangladesh’s economy is currently valued at USD 1,061.571 billion, according to the IMF.

Quoting the US Travel Association, 9/11 caused a loss to the US economy to the tune of 606 billion US dollars and 78 million international tourists, Amin said. The security issue came up prominently in the post 9/11 era. The incident of Holey Artisan on July 1, 2026 also issued a blow to the tourism sector of Bangladesh. According to data of the Tourist Police, 2.36 crore local tourists and 35,000 international tourists in 2017, 3.57 crore local and 1.36 lakh international tourists in 2018, 5 crore and 1.6 lakh tourists visited different tourist spots. Though the number of tourists was enough during the January-March period, the pandemic caused heavy damage to the tourist sector, said Sarder Nurul Amin.

The police super laid emphasis on proper and higher training of the tourist police personnel at home and abroad that will help flourish the tourism sector in Bangladesh

Under the initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a specialized unit of Bangladesh Police named ‘Tourist Police’ was launched in Bangladesh on November 6, 2013 in a bid to ensure the safety of tourists and development of the tourism industry.

The tourism industry has been among the fastest growing industries in recent years and it is now the third largest industry in the world (United Nations World Tourism Organization.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism continues to be one of the world’s largest sectors, too. In addition to this, Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report (2013) considers safety and security to be a pillar of tourism competitiveness with ‘reliability of police services’ a central anchor.

Tourism Oriented Policing was first defined by the Miami Metro-Dade Police Department as “a philosophy of policing based on the concept that specially trained police officers, working closely with business leaders, airport authorities, businesses that cater to the traveling public, and private citizens can help prevent or tremendously reduce the tourism problems related to crime, fear of crime, and the decay of the neighborhoods that tourist frequently travel”.

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Bangladesh tourism industry: Opportunities and challenges galore

Bangladesh, a country that boasts of an extensive cotton readymade industry that clocked around $40 billion in valuation in FY 2021, has been struggling to attract tourists, despite having the potential in terms of geography, climate and sites. Despite its attractions, the sector faces numerous challenges that hinder its growth. Inadequate infrastructure, outdated communication systems, limited accommodation options, safety concerns, and political instability discourage both domestic and international tourists from exploring the country’s wonders. There are, however, numerous opportunities in the country for religious tourism, sports tourism, eco-tourism, educational tourism, spa tourism, rural tourism, and cultural tourism. Unfortunately, the industry lacks the necessary research and strategic planning to fully harness its potential. It is important to understand Bangladesh’s significant tourist sites, the impact of tourism on its economy, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the sector.

Opportunities abound in tourism sector in Bangladesh

According to Opportunities and the Challenges of Tourism Industry in Bangladesh , published in Livelihood Enhancement Through Agriculture, Tourism and Health, in January 2022, Bangladesh, with its breathtaking natural scenery and rich heritage, possesses immense potential for tourism development. However, the industry has struggled to reach its full potential due to various challenges. The country boasts three world heritage sites: the Sundarban mangrove forest, Shatgombuj Mosque, and Paharpur Buddhist Vihara.

According to the authors, visitors, both domestic and international, are drawn to Bangladesh’s captivating beauty and diverse tourist sites. The sector faces numerous hurdles such as inadequate infrastructure, outdated communication systems, limited accommodation options, safety concerns, a lack of professionalism, lengthy visa processing, and political instability, dissuading travellers from exploring the country’s attractions. While tourism offers socio-economic and environmental benefits, uncontrolled mass tourism can have negative social impacts.

The paper also stresses that religious tourism; sports tourism, eco-tourism, educational tourism, spa tourism, rural tourism, and cultural tourism are among the opportunities available. However, a lack of research and strategic planning hinders the development of Bangladesh’s tourism industry.

Developing Bangladesh as a “destination”

An article published in the African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, published in 2019 stresses developing Bangladesh as a destination, competing with other countries and offering similar facilities. According to the authors, the growing importance of shopping opportunities for tourists is significantly influencing their choice of destinations. The availability of key shopping resources makes a destination more attractive and competitive.

In Bangladesh, Jamuna Future Park and Bashundhara City stand out as the country’s two largest shopping malls, offering a wide range of products. The cultural similarities between Bangladesh and Kolkata, the capital of India’s West Bengal state, contribute to this perceived preference, especially in terms of language. However, destination image can be slow to change, even if the reality no longer aligns with a positive or negative perception.

Highlighting the challenges faced by the tourism sector, the authors argue that despite these advantages, the current state of tourism infrastructure and accessibility in Bangladesh falls short compared to competing nations. Immediate upgrades are necessary to improve the situation and accommodate a greater number of tourists without compromising modern amenities. The paper also highlights the establishment of more five-star hotels and resorts to meet international standards is essential for ensuring high-quality accommodation.

Developing fisheries-based ecotourism in Bangladesh

According to the authors of the 2021 paper, Fishery-Based Ecotourism in Developing Countries Can Enhance the Social-Ecological Resilience of Coastal Fishers—A Case Study of Bangladesh published in The Blue Economy: Evaluating the Human Benefits from and Pressures on Marine and Coastal Environments, developing fisheries based ecotourism is viable in Bangladesh. The authors argue that as tourists seek more authentic experiences beyond the traditional sun, sand, and sea packages, fishing tourism has gained traction in recent years. Combining recreational fishing with cultural heritage, this emerging sector offers a unique appeal to travellers. For professional fishermen, it serves as a means to increase income, promote their craft and socio-cultural heritage, and encourage sustainable use of marine ecosystems while providing tourists access to fishing vessels.

As Bangladesh strives to develop its tourism industry, it is crucial to address the challenges and seize the opportunities at hand. Infrastructure improvements and the establishment of more high-quality accommodations are necessary to accommodate the growing number of visitors. Bangladesh can position itself as an attractive and competitive destination, showcasing its natural wonders, cultural heritage, and unique experiences to visitors from around the world.

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Tourism in Bangladesh: Present Status and Future Prospects

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1. Introduction

1.1. concept of tourism.

Tourism is a travel for recreation, religious, leisure, family or business purposes, usually for a limited duration. Tourism can be domestic or international. Nowadays, tourism is one of the major source of income for many countries. There is no consensus concerning the definition of tourism; its definition varies source by source, person by person. Guyer Feuler first defined tourism in 1905. In order to prevent the disaccords to define “Tourism”, UNWTO defined it as it is indicated below: “Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes”. Tourism is different from travel. Not all travel is tourism. In order for tourism to happen, there must be a displacement. Three criteria are used simultaneously in order to characterize a travel as tourism:

Criteria-1: it involves a displacement outside the usual environment;

Criteria-2: the travel must occur for any purpose;

Criteria-3: only a maximal duration is mentioned, not a minimal. Tourism displacement can be with or without an overnight stay. tourism in bangladesh

1.2. Nature of Tourism

Tourism is a service industry. It has become a very complex activity encompassing a wide range of relationships. Resulting in the improvements in standard of living and disposable income with more leisure time, the overall numbers of tourists are expected to grow further. Factors like convenient transport, no restrictions on travel, availability of information on various tourist spots and new marketing techniques contributed the growth of overall number of tourists in the present world. Additionally, a number of socio-demographic factors such as higher educational standards, advancement in information technology, rapid urbanization have strongly influenced the growth of tourism. tourism in bangladesh

1.3. Importance of Tourism

Tourism is an important driver of economic growth. Besides this, People have an opportunity to exchange culture. Tourism can earn huge amount of foreign currency. Tourism can support the Balance of Payment (BOP) of a country. Tourism can create employment.

1.4. Impact of Tourism

Tourism can bring many economic, social and environmental benefits, particularly in rural areas and developing countries, yet mass tourism is also associated with negative effects. Tourism can only be sustainable if it is carefully managed so that probable negative effects on the host community and the environment are not permitted to outweigh the financial benefits.

There are economic, socio-cultural and environmental key benefits of tourism.

i) Economic benefit: Tourism can provide direct jobs to the community, such as tour guides and hotel housekeeping. Indirect employment is generated through other industries like agriculture, food production and retail. Infrastructure development and visitors’ expenditure generates income for the local community and can lead to the alleviation of poverty.

ii) Social benefit: In addition to the revenue, tourism can bring about a real sense of pride and identity to communities. It allows them to look at their history, and community identity. This helps the local residents to maintain their tradition and culture.

touri iii) Environmental benefit: Tourism provides financial support for the conservation of ecosystems and natural resource management, making the destination more authentic and desirable to visitors.

tourism in bangladesh Negative effects of tourism are also not ignorable. These are:

i) Negative economic effect: Jobs created by tourism are often seasonal and poorly paid, yet tourism can push up local property prices and the cost of goods and services. Place of tourism can be affected by terrorism.

touri ii) Negative social effect: Visitor’s behavior can have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of the host community. For example, crowding and congestion, drugs and alcohol problems can occur. Interaction with tourists can also lead to an erosion of traditional cultures and values.

iii) Negative environmental effect: Tourism poses a threat to a region’s culture and natural resources, through overuse.

tourism in bangladesh

2. Types of Tourism

The type of tourism depends on the reason for travel. Travel can be to destinations that are domestic or international. Domestic tourism involves residents travelling only within their country. International tourism may be inbound or outbound. Inbound tourism involves non-residents travelling within a country. Outbound tourism involves residents travelling within another country. Based on the purpose of visit, tourism is categorized into the following :

i) Leisure Tourism

Tourists may travel to experience a change in climate and place and learn something new about the culture of a destination. Tourists, who seek break from the stress of day-to-day life, devote their holiday to rest, relaxation and refresh themselves. These tourists prefer to stay in some quiet and relaxed destination preferably at a hill resort, beach resort or island resort.

ii) Cultural tourism

Culture is one of the most important factors, which attract tourists to a destination. Cultural tourism gives insight to a way of people’s life of a distant land, its dressing, jewelry, dance, music culture, as well as architecture, customs and traditions, fairs and festivals.

iii) Religious tourism

It is a form of tourism, where people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage. Modern religious tourists visit holy cities and holy sites around the world.

vi) Family Tourism

Family tourism involves the family unit and their participation in diverse forms of tourism activity. This includes visiting one’s relatives and friends for interpersonal reasons.

v) Health Tourism

Health tourism is also called as medical tourism. Today, many people travel great distances to exotic locations in search of medical treatment. Medical tourism is an old-aged concept that has gained popularity in the recent times. Many developing countries are emerging as hot medical tourism destinations capitalizing on low cost advantages. Many hospitals have specially designed packages including resorts facilities. tourism in bangladesh

vi) Sports Tourism

Sports Tourism refers to travel which involves either viewing or participating in a sporting event staying apart from their usual environment. Normally these kinds of events are the motivators that attract visitors to visit the events like Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup etc.

vii) Educational Tourism

Educational tourism developed because of the growing popularity of teaching and learning of knowledge and the enhancing of technical competency outside of the classroom environment. In educational tourism, the focus of the tour is visiting another country to learn about the culture, such as in Student Exchange Programs and Study Tours, organizing specialized lectures of the eminent personalities and visiting for research. tourism in bangladesh

viii) Business Tourism

Tourists visit a particular destination for various reasons pertaining to his work such as attending a business meeting, conferences, conventions selling products, meeting with clients. Business tourism is popularly called as MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) tourism.

3. Literature Review

Bangladesh government reformed the national tourism policy in 2010. Aims and goals of this policy is to increase employment, ensure economic development, environmental purity and sustainability (Siraj et al., 2009). The major objective of the policy is to develop Eco-tourism through conservation of natural resources and promote well-being of the community, preservation of cultural values of the local community and their participation and sharing benefits. Government of Bangladesh launched an act of “Protected areas of tourism and special tourism zone (Kabir et al., 2012). Bangladesh is the country in the region that have the least arrivals and revenue earned from tourism industry (Pennington and Thomsen, 2010). Tourism is one of the profitable sectors in Bangladesh (Elena et al., 2012). Tourism sector of Bangladesh is facing many obstacles (Arif, Islam-2011). In this current study, data from several secondary international sources have been used to analyze the pattern of tourism in Bangladesh. Policy recommendations have also been provided based on this analysis.

3.1. Bangladesh at a Glance and Its Tourism Policy

Situated between Myanmar and India with the Bay of Bengal in the South, Bangladesh is the small country. It gained independence from Britain in 1947, becoming East Pakistan. On 16 th December, 1971, Bangladesh achieved its sovereign independence under the leadership of Bangabondhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman after a bloody liberation war against the Pakistani Army on 26 th March. The official and main language is Bangla, but there are many small tribal language groups. Dhaka is the capital. Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal and Rongpur are the major cities. Bangladesh is mainly an agricultural country. tourism in bangladesh

3.1.1. Institutions of Tourism Management in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) is an autonomous body under the ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism established in 1972. Basic target of BPC is to expand the tourism sector and provide the service for local and foreign tourist. National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (NHTTI) is an institute for professional tourism management training. NHTTI was established in 1974 under Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. This institute offers courses to ensure trained personnel for hotel and tourism industry. NHTTI started a two-year long diploma course in hotel management in 1994. Institute also provides the job training for BPC personnel and arrange special seminar, workshop related to tourism development. Another important institution supporting the development of tourism is Bangladesh Tourism Board. Bangladesh Tourism Board established in 2010 to meet the strong demand for private sector and the tourism professionals. It is affiliated with United Nations World Tourism Organizations (UNWTO). tourism in bangladesh

3.1.2. Objectives of Tourism Policy – 2010

1) To construct various rules under the law where the main objective is to fill in the gap of existing tourism rules and let regulations proceed;

2) To develop tourism industries through various planning related activities and side by side give advice as well as directions;

3) To create general awareness regarding tourism protection, development and exploration;

4) To execute responsible tourism through creation of some helping hand on behalf of government like as personal sector, local people, local administration, NGO, women federation, media;

5) To create better communication channel for the International Tourists Organizations in Bangladesh with both government and private tourism related organizations;

6) To create a strong and safe foothold for the Bangladeshi Tourist by coordinating with respective government organizations;

7) To create a tourism friendly environment in Bangladesh and to market its tourism potential in both domestic and foreign nations;

8) To develop human resource for tourism sector by creating training facilities and provide them with the right directions;

9) To attract tourists by maintaining quality and relevant material which in turn can provide smooth tourism service and ensuring necessary actions that need to be taken for maintenance;

10) To ensure the participation of physically challenged people;

11) To protect women rights and ensure their participation in the tourism sector;

12) To research on tourism industry, to survey international markets and to analyze the data.

3.1.3. Tourist Spots in Bangladesh

Tourist spots in Bangladesh are not concentrated in any particular place. Instead, they are scattered throughout the country. Division wise, we can present the tourist spots in Bangladesh as in Table 1.

Jaflong: Jaflong is one of the best natural tourist spot in Sylhet. It is situated at the border between Bangladesh and the Indian state of Meghalaya. It is takes two hours to drive. Tourist can learn something from the lifestyle of Tribe Khasia in Jaflong.

Ratargul: Ratargul is a fresh water swamp forest situated in Sylhet by the river of Goain. The water comes here from the adjacent Goain River. The flavor of Amazon forest is available there.

Madhabkunda waterfall : This is one of the largest waterfalls in Bangladesh. It is situated in Moulvibazar District. On the way visitors can see the greenish beauty of tea garden and the hills. Rubber and lemon plantations form a beautiful landscape.

Satchari National Park : This Park is in Habiganj District. Wildlife in this park is rich.

Bisanakandi: Bisanakandi is situated at Bangladesh-India border in Sylhet. It is a landscape beauty among gardens and hills. Winter is not a suitable time to visit Bisnakandi due to mechanised mining and stone-laden boats and lorries. tourism in bangladesh

Srimongal: Srimongal is famous for the largest tea gardens of world. Most of the tea estates are in Srimongal. It is called “The land of two leaves and a bud”. It is known as the tea capital in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Tea Research Institute (BTRI) and Tea Museum are functioning there.

Lawacherra Rain Forest: Well-reserved forests in Bangladesh. Prime attraction of this forest is rare Chloroform tree of Asia. It is like “A Piece of Paradise”.

Patenga Sea Beaches : It is about 22 km. from Chittagong city. Besides the sea beach, you can enjoy boating and river cruise in the River Karnaphuli.

Port Area : This is the principal sea port of Bangladesh.

Cox’s Bazar: World longest (120 km long) beach .Winter is the season to visit the Cox’s Bazar.

St. Martins Island : St. Martins Island is the most beautiful Coral Island.

Himchori : Himchori is famous for waterfall. Visitor can reach there by jeep from Cox’s Bazar.

Parki beach : It is situated in Anwarathana under southern Chittagong region.

Lalmai, Moinamoti and Shalbon Bihar: They are famous historical and archeological places around Comilla city.

Rangamati : If you don’t visit Rangamati you will unable to discover a big portion of natural beauties of Bangladesh.

Khagrachari : Khagrachhari is the natural wild beauty of Bangladesh. Here visitor can visit the tribal lifestyle.

Kaptai Lake : Built in early sixties Kaptai Dam and the lake are the main attractions of Kaptai.

Bandarban : Chimbuk hill is one of the major attractions of Bandarban.

Ahsan Manzil : Ahsan Manzil was a residential palace for Dhaka Nawab Family.

Shaheed Minar : The Shaheed Minar is a national monument in Dhaka.

Jatiyo Smritisoudho : Jatiyo Sritishoudho is the symbol in the memory of sacrifice of all those who gave their lives in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

Jatiya Sangshad Bahavan: It has been used for the Bangladesh National Assembly.

Sundarban: The Sundarban is the world largest tidal mangrove forest. The Sundarbans cover approximately 10,000 square kilometers, of which 60 percent is in Bangladesh with the remainder in India. The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kuakata: Kuakata is a panoramic sea beach located in the Patuakhali district. Kuakata has a wide sandy beach from where one can see both the sunrise and sunset.

Table 1: Tourist spots in Bangladesh

4. Methodology

The study is based on secondary data. The data have been collected from different reports, published articles, websites, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Daily newspapers etc. Analysis is based on various statistical techniques. There are several objectives to conduct this research. They are: tourism in bangladesh

To know about the current status and future prospects of tourism sector in Bangladesh.
To identify the major tourist spots in Bangladesh.
To assess the contribution of tourism sector in the Bangladesh economy.
To identify the barriers for developing tourism sector in Bangladesh.
To provide some suggestions for the improvements of tourism sector in Bangladesh.

5. Data Analysis and Results

5.1. present status of tourism in bangladesh.

The importance of tourism sector has increased overtime. In 2009-2010, 838 was allocated for tourism sector from national budget. This has been increased to 1818 in 2011-2012. However, lately there is a decreasing trend in tourism expenditure. In 2013-2014, tourism expenditure in national budget has been falling to 683. This decreasing trend may be due to the current political crisis, which has discouraged tourism in Bangladesh. tourism in bangladesh

Figure 1: Distribution of money at the tourism sector in the national budget

Source: Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation

In Bangladesh, government controlled tourism organization – Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) is doing well in terms of profit. In 2008-2009 it lost about 194 lakh taka. However, since then it is making profit. In 2009-2010, the profit was 23.41 lakh taka which has consistently increased to 612.33 lakh taka in 2012-2013. This profit has accompanied by both increasing total income and total expenditure. This total income and total expenditure in 2008-2009 were 3598.6 and 3792.35 lakh taka respectively. These figures have risen to 7168.33 lakh taka and 6556 lakh taka respectively in 2012-2013.

The number of tourist that came to Bangladesh during 2008 to 2012 are shown in Figure 2: The inbound tourism severely fall to 267,107 in 2009 from the previous year 467,332. This may be due to the global financial crisis. The number of tourist, however, show increasing trend after 2009. The inbound tourism has recovered to 303,386 in 2010 and has increased to 588,193 in 2012.

Table 2: Income, expenditure and profit of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation for 2008-2013

Source: Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation , 2014

Figure 2: Statistics of tourist incoming in Bangladesh

Source: Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation ,2014

5.2 Contribution of Tourism in the Bangladesh Economy

According to World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report (2014), The total contribution of travel and tourism was 4.4% of GDP in 2013 and is expected to grow 7.9% to 4.5% of GDP in 2014. It is forecasted to rise by 6.5% per annum to 4.7% of GDP by 2024. Notable that, total contribution consists of direct, indirect and induced contribution.

Figure 3: Contribution of travel and tourism to GDP

Travel and Tourism generated 1,328,500 jobs directly in 2013 and this is forecasted to grow by 4.0% in 2014. This includes employment by hotels, airlines, travel agents and other passenger transportation services. It will increase by 2.7% per annum on average over the next ten years. The total contribution of Travel and Tourism to employment was 2.8% of total employment in 2013. This is forecasted to rise to 3.9% of total employment in 2014. By 2024, travel and tourism are forecasted to support 4.2% of total employment.

Figure 4: Contribution of travel and tourism to employment generation

Visitor exports are a key component of the direct contribution of travel and tourism .Visitor spend a good sum of money during their stay in the country. Spending on food, travels, and hotel are included in the visitor exports category. In 2013, Bangladesh generated BDT 8.3 billion in visitor exports. In 2014, this is expected to grow by 7.1%. By 2024, international tourist arrivals are forecasted to 611,000 generating expenditure of BDT 15.5 billion .Travel and Tourism’s contribution to total national investment will rise from 1.5% in 2014 to 1.6% in 2024.

Figure 5: Contribution of travel and tourism to Visitor Exports

6. Conclusion and Recommendations

Now Bangladesh is low-middle income country. Its average GDP growth rate is 6%. The economy is highly dependent on work force export, Ready Made Garments (RMG) and agriculture sector. Other prominent sectors are shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals etc. The rate of employment is 90 %, which is below expected level. As a result, disguised employment and employment at low wage rate is rising. Many of the people are illegally crossing border in the hope of better life. In order to improve employment rate and to stop the illegal migration, government has to take and implement some projects and policies, through this, it has to try to receive the social, cultural and economic benefits of the tourism sector. As part of tourism sector development, recently government has passed the Cox’s Bazaar Development Authority (CDA) at the meeting of ministry. This is supportable but not enough. The government of Bangladesh should place equal emphasis in its policy on the development of the tourist spots all over the country. This will create employment opportunity on the one hand and on the other hand it reduces the dependence of the country on some other specific sectors.

Following measures are necessary for the development of tourism sector in Bangladesh:

Up-date the present tourism policies in Bangladesh compare to the world tourism market.
Tourism spot and related organization should run by the private sector.
Tourism related discipline like hotel and tourism management should be start at the all university in Bangladesh.
Infrastructures around the tourism sector should be built and maintained. Rail connection between Cox’s Bazaar and Chittagong is necessary. Because, present communication system is not enough for tourist attraction.
Political stability should be maintained to attract the foreign tourist.
Government should take the actions about the security system at the tourist place.
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Barriers to Tourism Industry in Bangladesh and the Way Forward

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The tourism industry has a multidimensional capacity in contributing to the development process of any country like Bangladesh by creating jobs and income opportunities, reducing poverty for underserved communities, and leading to socio-economic development. However, due to the prevailing social and institutional barriers, Bangladesh’s tourism industry is still at the take-off stage. A better insight into the tourism industry’s existing barriers is considered a pre-requisite to promote sustainable development policies worldwide. Therefore, this chapter discusses the barriers associated with the Bangladesh tourism industry and discusses the way forward for future policy formulations.

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Due to the better understanding of the tourists’ demand.

This growth is realised because of the current government’s rigorous efforts to promote the tourism industry since 2009.

The last revision was made in 2010.

For more details, see: http://www.tourismboard.gov.bd/site/page/dd07926f-4912-4380-8f47-54ed102af960/%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%80-%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE .

In line with the local culture.

For example, the government of Bangladesh is preparing a tourism satellite matrix through which different economic aspects can be analysed for the upcoming five-year perspective plans.

The act of exploiting the shared resources by different stakeholders.

The roles and responsibilities of the officials of the NTOs are yet not clear; besides, the mission and vision of the NTOs are not clearly defined and integrated.

As an emerging country, Bangladesh might not have the bargaining power with the international tour operators. A possible policy remedy can be to appoint the foreign tour operators as consultants.

The existing centralised mechanism requires that all the policy decision needs to get the approval of the NTOs and related ministries.

Only 2 tourism-centric PPPs are in the implantation stage until 2020.

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Amin, S.B. (2021). Barriers to Tourism Industry in Bangladesh and the Way Forward. In: The Economy of Tourism in Bangladesh. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72900-4_5

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Bangladesh tourism sector weakest in South Asia

The country stands 133rd among 140 countries in tourism service infrastructure index .

Last October, a senior journalist from South India stopped for a short visit in Dhaka to report on the pre-election scenario in Bangladesh.

Stepping out of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he immediately felt lost. He could neither read any of the road signs, nor could he ask anyone for instructions as he did not speak the local language. Everything was written in Bangla and not a single auto-rickshaw driver spoke English.

After travelling with ease in over 25 countries, he was finally defeated in Bangladesh.

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This is not a one-off case though, as most foreign tourists visiting Bangladesh face many difficulties upon arrival in the capital.

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, the state-owned tourism agency that has been working for almost 50 years to transform this sector, has barely made a dent despite undertaking various projects.

The sorry state of our tourism sector was revealed – once again – in a recent report published by the World Economic Forum, titled "Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019."

Bangladesh ranked 133rd among 140 countries in tourism service infrastructure.

Among South Asian countries, Bangladesh secured the lowest position, while neighbours like Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Nepal secured 92nd, 109th, 112th and 126th positions respectively.

Previously in 2017, Bangladesh was in the same position, suggesting the tourism sector made no progress in the last two years, although several projects had been taken during the period to improve the sector.

Like every other year, Bangladesh is celebrating World Tourism Day today, but the bitter truth is that there is no clear plan about developing the sector, making lives difficult for both tourists and people depending on the sector for their livelihoods.

There is no specific data on how much the tourism sector contributes to the national economy and how many foreign tourists visit specific locations in a particular year.

Bhubon Chandra Biswas, chief executive officer of the Bangladesh Tourism Board, said they had no such data.

Moreover, due to a lack of focus and plan on building good hotels, developing skills and quality manpower, foreign tourists are having difficulties in travelling.

No specific system exists to keep tourist data and track income from the sector in Bangladesh. The Special Branch of Bangladesh Police keeps records of foreigners coming into the country – although partially, but that is not for tourism purposes. Bangladesh Bank keeps information about earnings from foreign tourists.

Annually about 5-6 lakh foreign tourists visit Bangladesh, while 90 lakh local tours are organised across the country.

Almost 11 lakh people directly depend on this sector for their livelihoods while another 12 lakh are associated with the sector indirectly.

Dr Sakia Haque, founder of the Travelettes of Bangladesh, said although Bangladesh has numerous attractive tourism spots, information on them is not readily available.

"Most of the information is written in Bangla and is scattered all over the internet," she said, adding that it is quite difficult for foreigners to sort through all this and find the required information.

Furthermore, information for travelling inside the country, for example from Dhaka to a certain location outside the capital, is available in popular yet Bangla-dominated blogs, Facebook groups and YouTube channels.

Dr Sakia suggested that the authorities add more travel information, preferably in English as well as other languages, to make trips easier for foreigners.

"Nobody is willing to develop our tourism sector except for the prime minister. We do not have any guidelines for tour operators and no registration process for them," said Syed Rashidul Hasan, former chairman of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Dhaka University.

Money allocated for projects, but not spent

A project was undertaken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism in July 2017 to build the Parjatan Bhaban at Agargaon in Dhaka at about Tk63 crore, but the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation was unable to use the funds.

The project implementation time ended in June 2019 with zero progress of the work.

Most of the projects and initiatives undertaken to boost the tourism industry are also stagnant. The year-long programmes marking the "Tourism Year 2016" ended up with an approval of a Tk49.68 crore project which is currently stalled.

The project aimed at improving several tourism spots to raise the number of annual foreign tourists to 10 lakh from the current 5 lakh.

Sources at the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division said the overall implementation status of development projects by the tourism ministry has worsened over the years.

The state-owned Prajatan Corporation provided a list of projects undertaken over the years to boost the tourism industry, but none of them have rendered any visible progress so far. These include development of tourism spots in Barishal, Netrokona, Munshiganj, Satkhira and Cox's Bazar.

"Due to poor roads and infrastructure, we cannot offer quality facilities to foreign tourists. To boost up the sector, both local and international investment is a must," said Md Ziaul Haque Howlader, manager of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation.

At present, the tourism corporation has only 29 hotels and motels across the country, very few compared to the number of tourism spots. These hotels have capacity for 1,560 tourists while the corporation's restaurants can seat 1,992 people.

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Bangladesh Tourism Revenue Growth

Bangladesh Tourism Revenue dropped 44.3 % YoY in Dec 2020, compared with an increase of 9.5 % YoY in the previous year
Bangladesh Tourism Revenue Growth rate data is updated yearly, available from Dec 2003 to Dec 2020
The data reached an all-time high of 62.4 % in Dec 2017 and a record low of -44.3 % in Dec 2020

View Bangladesh's Tourism Revenue Growth from 2003 to 2020 in the chart:

What was Bangladesh's Tourism Revenue Growth in 2020?

Bangladesh Tourism Revenue dropped 44.3 % YoY in Dec 2020, compared with an increase of 9.5 % YoY in the previous year See the table below for more data.

Tourism Revenue Growth by Country Comparison

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COMMENTS

Tourism in Bangladesh
Economic impact. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) reported in 2013 that Bangladesh's travel and tourism industry directly generated 1,281,500 jobs in 2012, or 1.8% of the country's total employment, which ranked Bangladesh 102 out of 178 countries worldwide. A direct and indirect career in the industry totalled 2,714,500 jobs or 3.7% of the country's total employment.
Opportunities and the Challenges of Tourism Industry in Bangladesh
The tourism sector of Bangladesh is now an effective partner of the country's journey on the development highway. According to the WTTC, at present, 1.5 million people are working directly (in the hotel, motel, travel agencies, leisure industries, airlines, and other transport) and 2.3 million indirectly in the tourism sector of Bangladesh.
Travel & Tourism
The Travel & Tourism market in in Bangladesh is projected to grow by 4.80% (2024-2028) resulting in a market volume of US$2,634.00m in 2028. ... Bangladesh's Travel & Tourism industry is growing ...
Tourism in Bangladesh: A Future Outlook
The direct contribution of the travel and tourism sector to GDP of Bangladesh was US$ 6 billion (2.2% of total GDP with the growth of 13.5% while 4.42% average growth since 1999), which created 1180.5 thousand persons employment (growth 7.7% and 1.9% of total GDP) in 2018 (Knoema, 2020 ).
Bangladesh
This factsheet highlights the importance of Travel & Tourism to Bangladesh across many metrics, and features details such as: Contribution of the sector to overall GDP and employment. Comparisons between 2019 and 2023. Forecasts for 2024 and 2034. International and domestic visitor spending. Proportion of leisure vs business spending.
Development and importance of tourism for Bangladesh
In 2021, Bangladesh generated around 273.00 million US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 0.059 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 2 percent of all international tourism receipts in South Asia. Worldwide comparisons: › International tourism › List of safest travel countries Back to overview ...
Tourism, sustainability, and the economy in Bangladesh: The innovation
The tourism industry in Bangladesh has seen massive growth in the past decade, as total tourism contribution for Bangladesh has increased from 377.46 billion Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) on average from 2007-2018 to 693.21 billion BDT in 2018 alone (WTTC, 2019).
Economic Prospects of Tourism Industry in Bangladesh
The economic picture of the tourism industry in Bangladesh's economy is highlighted in this section. Figure 4.1 shows the total impact of the tourism industry in the local currency and its share in Bangladesh's GDP. There is a steady increase in the tourism industry's total contribution, even though its share in GDP has not surpassed over 4 per cent from 2007 to 2018.
(PDF) Tourism and Economic Growth of Bangladesh
Because the tourism sector contributes such a small percentage of GDP to Bangladesh's economy (at the moment), its commitment to economic growth is limited. The present amount of Bangladesh's ...
Tourism master plan aims to attract 5.57m tourists annually by 2041
The Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) has finalised the much anticipated tourism master plan with the goal of attracting 5.57 million foreign tourists annually by 2041 and fostering the creation of 21.94 million jobs within the sector. The newly formulated plan has sought $1.08 billion public and private investment to develop 10 tourism clusters.
Tourism Industry in Bangladesh: A Possible New Contributor to
Tourism is one of the emerging industries in Bangladesh. The tourism industry accounts for 4.4% of the country's GDP and is showing a noticeable amount of growth every year. Therefore, it can be said that the tourism industry is going to have a big impact on the economy of Bangladesh in the near future. But like many other industries, the ...
Tourism and cultural Relations in Bangladesh
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) predicts that by 2023 Bangladesh's tourism sector will employ about 1.7 million workers, roughly 4.2 percent of the country's workforce (Hasan, 2021). This suggests that the tourism industry has enough potential to boost economic growth in Bangladesh. Yet the consequences of the development of the ...
How Bangladesh can save its tourism industry
In recent years, the contribution of this industry to our GDP has risen considerably. In 2018-20, for example, the contribution has been 4.4%, while it was 4.2% during 2016-17. This improvement is also reflected in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reports whereby the position of our country has been improving gradually (from 125 in 2017 ...
Transforming Bangladesh's tourism industry
To that end, news that Bangladesh Tourism Board is preparing a master plan on the country's tourism sector in cooperation with IPE Global Limited is certainly very encouraging to hear about. Much like our ambitious plans for 2041, we have set the very ambitious goal of attracting 10 million tourists and a revenue of $8 billion by 2041, and ...
Tourism as an Element for Economic Growth in Bangladesh: Investment
Bangladesh has huge prospects for both international and national investors for the development of the tourism industry. According to WTTC, the tourism industry is a growing sector in Bangladesh (Ahmed et al., 2020; Hafsa, 2020; Sultana, 2016).The travel and tourism-related investment were around US$612 billion in 2010, and it reached $652 billion in 2011, or 4.5% of total investment (Kobra et ...
"Bangladesh tourism sector to bounce back in 2023"
The tourism sector is one of the most affected sectors in Bangladesh. The travel and tourism sector created some 18.6 lakh jobs, 2.9 per cent of total jobs generated. The number of employment dropped to 14.5 lakh in 2020, 2.3 per cent of total jobs, said Sarder Nurul Amin.
BPC
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation is a statutory board under the Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism of Bangladesh, tasked to promote the tourism industry of the country. It is the National Tourism Organization of the country. FOLLOW US.
Bangladesh tourism industry: Opportunities and challenges galore
Unfortunately, the industry lacks the necessary research and strategic planning to fully harness its potential. It is important to understand Bangladesh's significant tourist sites, the impact of tourism on its economy, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the sector. Opportunities abound in tourism sector in Bangladesh
Tourism in Bangladesh: Present Status and Future Prospects
Bangladesh is the country in the region that have the least arrivals and revenue earned from tourism industry (Pennington and Thomsen, 2010). Tourism is one of the profitable sectors in Bangladesh (Elena et al., 2012). Tourism sector of Bangladesh is facing many obstacles (Arif, Islam-2011).
Barriers to Tourism Industry in Bangladesh and the Way Forward
The Tourism industry has been an important development tool for both the developed and developing world (Cerovic et al., 2015; Taheri et al., 2019).It has a multidimensional capacity in contributing to the development process of any economy like Bangladesh by creating jobs and income opportunities for the underserved communities, leading to socio-economic development (Chowdhury et al., 2013).
Bangladesh tourism sector weakest in South Asia
The sorry state of our tourism sector was revealed - once again - in a recent report published by the World Economic Forum, titled "Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019." Bangladesh ranked 133rd among 140 countries in tourism service infrastructure. Among South Asian countries, Bangladesh secured the lowest position, while ...
Bangladesh Tourism Revenue Growth
Bangladesh Tourism Revenue dropped 44.3 % YoY in Dec 2020, compared with an increase of 9.5 % YoY in the previous year. Bangladesh Tourism Revenue Growth rate data is updated yearly, available from Dec 2003 to Dec 2020. The data reached an all-time high of 62.4 % in Dec 2017 and a record low of -44.3 % in Dec 2020.
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Bangladesh has limited tourism facilities for domestic and foreign tourists. Because of both the public and private sectors, the investment in this industry is less than the demand. As a result; Bangladesh's success in the tourism industry in the international context is minimal. But the potential of Bangladesh in the tourism industry is very ...